Many organizations find themselves overwhelmed with opportunities, initiatives, and required activities that are crucial to their continued success. Leaders bemoan the fact that they do not have enough time to get everything done. Unfortunately, we have yet to find a way to truly "get" more time, so instead we need to turn our attention to the workload. As such, we need to find a way to get more done by doing less. How is this accomplished?

This Executive Update is the second of two that extends the work on agile project management and sets forth to explore how a company can introduce agility into its portfolio of developmental projects. The combination of increased uncertainty and complexity in company environments calls for the development of these new management forms and a shift in management thinking.

Compliance with regulations continues to have a significant impact on corporations, even after the first wave of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has passed. In reality, proposing jail sentences for corporate officers who fail to comply with SOX only brought to central attention a matter that had been growing in importance for some time. This proposal raised regulatory compliance from a cost-benefits exercise to a task with "must do" status.

Compliance with regulations continues to have a significant impact on corporations, even after the first wave of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) has passed. In reality, proposing jail sentences for corporate officers who fail to comply with SOX only brought to central attention a matter that had been growing in importance for some time. This proposal raised regulatory compliance from a cost-benefits exercise to a task with "must do" status.

Concern over regulations took center stage in many businesses with the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). This act requires corporations to make significant changes to their business processes, often at great cost. While SOX is now under control to some degree, it has brought in its wake a need to create continuous systems for monitoring compliance, as well as a new urgency to deal with regulations in a unified way in order to cut costs and to provide room for process improvement and efficiency.

Concern over regulations took center stage in many businesses with the introduction of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). This act requires corporations to make significant changes to their business processes, often at great cost. While SOX is now under control to some degree, it has brought in its wake a need to create continuous systems for monitoring compliance, as well as a new urgency to deal with regulations in a unified way in order to cut costs and to provide room for process improvement and efficiency.

Compliance issues continue to create concern for corporate executives, even as the first wave of panic over Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) is beginning to settle. The new regulations are of particular relevance to IT because they impose requirements on management concerning how data is collected and stored. The need for accountability and auditing has, in turn, brought procedures under close scrutiny -- particularly in areas related to the management and storage of data and communications.

Compliance issues continue to create concern for corporate executives, even as the first wave of panic over Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) is beginning to settle. The new regulations are of particular relevance to IT because they impose requirements on management concerning how data is collected and stored. The need for accountability and auditing has, in turn, brought procedures under close scrutiny -- particularly in areas related to the management and storage of data and communications.

A planning, decision-making, and execution methodology is useful to business process sourcing just as a foundation and frame is useful to a house. Structure and support maximize the usefulness of both. In fact, without structure and support, you couldn't really call a house a house. Without a methodology, what do you call sourcing? Often enough, just messy and value killing.

A planning, decision-making, and execution methodology is useful to business process sourcing just as a foundation and frame is useful to a house. Structure and support maximize the usefulness of both. In fact, without structure and support, you couldn't really call a house a house. Without a methodology, what do you call sourcing? Often enough, just messy and value killing.

If you accept the proposition that embracing the use of a planning, decision-making, and execution management methodology can boost sourcing initiative value creation, then your thoughts probably turn directly to this: how do you get your hands on one? Build it. It's not as hard as you think.

If you accept the proposition that embracing the use of a planning, decision-making, and execution management methodology can boost sourcing initiative value creation, then your thoughts probably turn directly to this: how do you get your hands on one? Build it. It's not as hard as you think.

This Executive Update is the seventh in a series that examines information and communications technology (ICT) outsourcing and its various configuration options. The series is based on a recent Cutter Consortium survey of 73 organizations in 25 countries across the globe. 1

This Executive Update is the seventh in a series that examines information and communications technology (ICT) outsourcing and its various configuration options. The series is based on a recent Cutter Consortium survey of 73 organizations in 25 countries across the globe. 1

IT industry

IT has been found to be an accelerator in a company's market share formula, controlling the speed of process innovation and the effectiveness of deployment. This reality is increasing the pressure on businesses to engage IT as an equal business partner in order to gain and sustain competitive advantage.

IT industry

IT has been found to be an accelerator in a company's market share formula, controlling the speed of process innovation and the effectiveness of deployment. This reality is increasing the pressure on businesses to engage IT as an equal business partner in order to gain and sustain competitive advantage.

IT industry

IT has been found to be an accelerator in a company's market share formula, controlling the speed of process innovation and the effectiveness of deployment. This reality is increasing the pressure on businesses to engage IT as an equal business partner in order to gain and sustain competitive advantage.

In a recent Cutter Consortium survey of 95 organizations, 1 nearly 73% of respondents report that they plan to outsource parts of their IT in 2007. The largest sector reports that they plan to outsource about 11%-25% of their IT functions, mostly comprising project work for software applications development and maintenance.

In a recent Cutter Consortium survey of 95 organizations, 1 nearly 73% of respondents report that they plan to outsource parts of their IT in 2007. The largest sector reports that they plan to outsource about 11%-25% of their IT functions, mostly comprising project work for software applications development and maintenance.

In a recent Cutter Consortium survey of 95 organizations, 1 nearly 73% of respondents report that they plan to outsource parts of their IT in 2007. The largest sector reports that they plan to outsource about 11%-25% of their IT functions, mostly comprising project work for software applications development and maintenance.

I spent last weekend in Florida, but it wasn't my idea. I've been working in Florida for the last few weeks and commuting home to Kansas every Friday. I normally take a 4:50 flight that gets me home about 9:00 pm. Last week, the plane was a little late coming in but we were out on the runway about 30 minutes later, so I still had slim hopes of making my connection.

I spent last weekend in Florida, but it wasn't my idea. I've been working in Florida for the last few weeks and commuting home to Kansas every Friday. I normally take a 4:50 flight that gets me home about 9:00 pm. Last week, the plane was a little late coming in but we were out on the runway about 30 minutes later, so I still had slim hopes of making my connection.

I spent last weekend in Florida, but it wasn't my idea. I've been working in Florida for the last few weeks and commuting home to Kansas every Friday. I normally take a 4:50 flight that gets me home about 9:00 pm. Last week, the plane was a little late coming in but we were out on the runway about 30 minutes later, so I still had slim hopes of making my connection.

So far in this series of Advisors (see "More in this series"), I've focused on the basics of building a team. There's plenty more to say there, but let's look at a different topic for the next few months. Let's look at collaborating across boundaries, or what is frequently called partnering.

It has been a busy time on the governance and compliance home front over the past few weeks, with several items of interest being reported. We start first with the results of the Financial Executives International (FEI) sixth SOX compliance survey of some 200 companies that had average revenues of US $6.8 billion.